Rare 1977 Blondie Photoshoot Captured Beneath the Aging Hollywood Sign During the Band’s Rise

This article revisits a notable 1977 photo session featuring the band Blondie beneath the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, California. The photographs were taken by music photographer Richard Creamer while the group was gaining increasing attention within the punk and emerging new wave music scenes. Earlier that year, Blondie had received significant exposure by joining Iggy Pop’s North American tour as an opening act, an opportunity reportedly extended by both Iggy Pop and David Bowie after they heard the band’s debut album. During their visit to Los Angeles, Blondie performed a series of memorable shows at the Whisky a Go Go, helping establish their growing reputation. The photoshoot took place on the hills of Mount Lee directly below the famous Hollywood Sign. An especially significant aspect of the images is that they document the original sign in a heavily deteriorated state, with visible wear and peeling surfaces. These photographs were taken only about a year before the aging structure was demolished and replaced in 1978. At the time, Blondie had not yet achieved major commercial success in the United States, but the band soon experienced a breakthrough in Australia when a television program accidentally aired their song “In the Flesh,” helping it climb to the top of the charts. The article also notes that Blondie released its self-titled debut album in December 1976 through Private Stock Records. Dissatisfied with the label’s promotion efforts and sales results, the band later bought back its contract and signed with Chrysalis Records, which reissued the album in October 1977 and expanded its distribution.